1989 Holiday Rambler - What to do

[armelwl1951]

Hey y'all!

We finally purchased our first rig, a 1989 Holiday Rambler Crown Imperial with 60,000 miles on it. We purchased it for $6000.00. The guy had already put new tires, new batteries, new fuel lines, and a complete tune up on the engine. My question on a rig so old is what to do first.
We are intending to full-time in this. What would recommend to do first as far as maintenance, mods, and updates? I'm holding off on the interior renovations in order to take care of the important stuff. It seemed to drive well going home (that was a hour long drive halfway up a steep grade) save that the speedometer didn't work.
What maintenance should I do?
I've heard of greasing the chassis, tune up on the generator (which starts up right away), flush all the tanks (it's been sitting for awhile as the previous owner had been deployed to Korea,and it still has half a tank of water in it), check the brakes (it has hydraulic breaks, of which I know nothing of ), etc...
Are there any upgrades you would recommend on a rig so old?
It will be my husband, 3 children under 4, and I full timing.

Thank you for any information you can give me!

[tbos1958]

If it were me I think I would make sure the roof and all the exterior openings are sealed properly so you have no problems with water intrusion. The next I would do is make sure the brakes and all other safety items are working properly.

[nuget102]

Some people would say use a steering damper and you may also find the shocks to be less satisfactory than, say, a 2010. But really aside from 'comforts' there's not a lot I can think of.

Replace the lights with LEDs

Make sure your emergency start switch actually works.

Double check all your window seals, as well the fixtures on the roof. I recommend redoing the Windows, it isn't hard or expensive but is time consuming.
Check for interior water damage that may be hidden. We found the fake leather dash and overhead roof in the driving area of our RV hid a totally rotted out roof. Of course, we also knew the roof leaked when we bought it.

Also, do some math on what you can run with your generator. Remember that a 6000 watt generator is useless with a 30 amp cord, since your max pull would be 4000ish

As far as renovation stuff, I recommend using pex pipe. Easy enough to install an amateur can do it and it has lots of flex which helps with tight spaces.

Which reminds me, check your water pump. You could possibly get a more efficient one that puts out more pressure.

Check your heater over if you have one, clean the ducts and check for damave. And look for mice in hidden areas, like snuggled up against your power converter/breaker box.

That's all I can think of really. I based my recommendations on what I noticed was wrong with my rv, which is two years older than yours and no doubt worse shape.

Good luck with your RV.

[F76Marion]

Armel,

It sounds like you got the coach from a conscientious PO (Previous Owner). Though the coach is relatively new from my perspective, it will still have old RV issues. Water leakage is the worst. Make very sure that it is not leaking. If it is it will dissolve in an amazingly short period of time.

The Driveline has been tended to, but there is still more.
Remember you have a 28 year old house on a 28 year old truck and the house has been subjected to a 28 year long earthquake. Think about that.

Yes, you need a grease gun and you need to learn where all the grease points are. Depending on the chassis there may be a bunch. It may be a bear to get under there every 3, 5 or 7000 miles (read the chassis manual), but even expensive grease is cheaper than buying and replacing parts.

As said, reseal everything.
Flush the brake system with new fluid. Even if it looks good, just do it or get it done. Brake fluid likes to collect water. There is nothing good about that.

Sanitize the potable water tank. I hope PO lived in a city with residua chlorine or a serious tank cleaning may be needed. Whether you use HCl or H2O2 makes little difference, but do it before you use the water system for much of anything.

Lastly, past 20 years, count on all the rubber parts to be shot. Tires and fuel lines was a very good start, but belts, coolant hoses and brake lines should all be inspected carefully.

It sounds like you did very well. Just be sure to do all the required maintenance. If you didn't get them in the kit, get the manuals for everything, not just the chassis.

Travel safely.

Frank - knows about vintage coaches

[armelwl1951]

Thank you to everyone for your replies
I've convinced my husband to put off full timing in order to fully renovate the motorhome. I want to gut the interior and put in new more efficient insulation. I noticed that some of the walls under the windows are warping and pulling away exposing the old fiberglass insulation. There is no water damage that I can see, I think it is just from condensation as the windows should have new seals put in (as some of you have already suggested). I also found some mouse droppings under the dinette set.
So I've come to the conclusion that we should put new insulation in. It'll give us a chance to look for water damage, put in new better insulation, replace the warping wall boards, and seal any mouse openings.
I'm thinking of polyisocyanurate sheets with Great Stuff Pro sealing in between.
I'm debating on also adding in the ceiling in order to create a better barrier from the sun, thus reducing the temperature in the hotter months.
I'm also going to rip out the carpet and put new carpet in the back bedroom (going to be my 3 kids room) and put laminate flooring throughout the rest of the coach. I'm leaning towards laminate as it requires an insulating barrier as opposed to vinyl, of which I prefer for sound dampening.
While doing all of this I'm going to rewire what needs it, add new ceiling vents (Maxx Air with auto temp gauge), add an extra vent in the back room, ect...
WHEW!

[Nick-B]

What chassis / engine does it have? I'm assuming its a gasser (Ford or Chevy engine) although it could be diesel. That info will help us give you more specific recommendations. Anything rubber is suspect at that age even if the previous owner was good at some maintenance he may have neglected other things. You mention hydraulic brakes. Nothing too special here as all cars use hydraulic brakes. The brake system contains many rubber parts that get old and leak. Unless you know the PO did a recent overhaul of the brake system it would be prudent to do so. Your motorhome weighs many times more than a car so solid brakes are also more important.
Enjoy your renovations and many good times to come!

[armelwl1951]

It's a gas Chevy 454. I was thinking the brakes would need to be given a once over as my dad commented that they were very hard to press and he's driven trucks, buses, etc.

[RVLover357]

Make sure everything is sealed to keep water out. Composet Products offers a lot of good deals on high quality sealants